As most of you may know, I love sports. I love to watch, read, and learn about anything and everything that has to do with sports. But more than that, I love to play sports. Lately, I've had some very interesting knee problems have sidelined me from playing basketball and have forced me to "retire" my shoes for a while. I actually played basketball early Saturday morning for a friend's birthday, and it really confirmed that I need to lay off my knees. This has posed as a big problem for me in my life and has led to somewhat depressing moments. The feeling of being old at the age of 25 really tugs at me. Are these the things I really worry about? Sadly... Yes, and there is more.
White Castle... these two words could quite possibly mean the death of a generation. For all of you Californians wondering if White Castle really lives up to all of its hype... it doesn't. I find this place to be utterly disgusting. The spots on the box above is not from random lighting, but from the grease stains seeping through the casing of a slider. Yes they're cheap, and yes they satisfy your hunger, but after consuming a few of these, they feel like they can end your life then and there. Are these the things I really worry about? Unfortunately... yes.
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Now to the actual point of this post. These pictures were just a part of my Friday evening. I spent the better half of the evening at an incredibly blessing service put on by an organization called "Crossing Borders". Crossing Borders helps support political refugees from North Korea that have fled the country through China in their treacherous journey to South Korea. These amazing missionaries risk their lives in order to help people they have no physical relationship with. But these missionaries also tell us that the only relationship that matters is the one through God.
We met in a beautiful church called College Church, cleverly named as it is a part of Wheaton College. The speaker, Dr. Peter Cha from Trinity seminary, was an amazing speaker with an equally amazing message. The jist of the message was that there is hope, and God calls us to be a part of it. Dr. Cha is a North Korean. His parents lived in Pyongyang, where his father was a pastor. Dr. Cha told us stories that his father told him. Stories of North Korea, before it was even known as North Korea... it was simply known as, Korea. Pyongyang city flourished in spirituality. Dr. Cha spoke of times when church bells would ring throughout the city on Sundays, and everyone would flock to their churches, and worship God. This came as a complete shock to me. I would have never guessed that Christianity and North Korea, as I know it, could have co-existed at any point in history. Sometimes it's even easier for me to think of North Korea as, "The forgotten country". It's hard for me to think that God can even exist in a place like North Korea. And yet, someone like Dr. Cha, who has experienced it all nearly first hand, has hopes that Pyongyang and the rest of North Korea will be restored to what it once was because of his faith in God. And the crazy part is, God calls us to be a part of it.
We live for so much more than we could imagine. While people are dying from injustice, famine, human trafficking, and other inhumane acts... I sit in my cush life worrying about things like, "What effects can White Castle have on my body?" or, "What would I do if I couldn't play basketball again?" Our mentalities in Orange County, CA or Schaumburg, IL in itself are an injustice. God calls us for so much more. I feel so challenged by the message and the presentation on Friday. I would love to be a warrior for God that has a heart for His people, and His issues. I would love to be able to fall to my knees and passionately pray for the change of North Korea and its leaders. And yet, I sit and worry about trivial issues.
They're dying, and it's as if I don't even care. They're dying, and it's as if they aren't God's people too. They are our brothers and sisters. This is a challenge to myself and anyone else who calls themselves "Christian"... let's develop a heart for His people. Let's develop a love for His people and invest ourselves in things bigger than we could imagine. Let's pray for change knowing that with God, anything is possible. I believe God is good and I have experienced God's grace and mercy.... so let's spread it across the nations as we are called to do.
